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American Muslim Union (AMU)

organizationLast updated: January 21, 2019

Overview

New Jersey Islamic group associated with the Islamic Center of Passaic County, which was founded by a Hamas fundraiser

Based in Paterson, New Jersey, the American Muslim Union (AMU) is “dedicated to serving the American Muslim community and its unique needs.” Five of AMU’s current and former directors and executives have held, or still hold, leadership positions at the Islamic Center of Passaic County (ICPC), which was co-founded by Hamas fundraiser Mohammad El-Mezain. AMU’s President, Mohamed Younes, is a member of ICPC’s Board of Trustees.

At an October 2001 event, AMU hosted the pro-Hamas attorney Stanley Cohen. In March 2004, AMU’s invitation to an interfaith event was revoked after two Jewish organizations complained about the group’s ties to Islamic terrorism.

AMU views the post-9/11 anti-terror legislation passed by the U.S. government — particularly the Patriot Act — as a coordinated assault on the civil liberties of Americans, especially those of Muslim heritage. AMU Executive Director Waheed Khalid has called the Patriot Act “an extremely dangerous piece of legislation” that, “under the guise of ‘national security,’” tramples on “our nation’s more than 200-year-old Constitution.”

In December 2001 — three months after the 9/11 attacks — AMU joined forces with the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Human Rights Education & Law Project, and the Council of New Jersey Mosques in a campaign to provide immigration attorneys for any Muslims in New Jersey who were questioned by law-enforcement officials in connection with Justice Department terrorism investigations.

AMU chose not to endorse or participate in the May 14, 2005 “Free Muslims March Against Terror,” an event whose purpose was to send “a message to radical Muslims and supporters of terrorism that we reject them and that we will do all we can to defeat them.”